User:John Hamer

John Hamer on Wikipedia. I am an independent researcher, interested in history, historic maps and historical mapping. My fields of specialization are Medieval European history, Medieval cartography and the history of the Latter Day Saint movement.

I have focused on the last topic in particular in the past five years. My maps have been published in dozens of history books, journals, museum exhibits, and documentary files. In 2011, wrote and illustrated a full-color volume entitled Northeast of Eden: Atlas of Mormon Settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri, 1834-39, which was published by John Whitmer Books.

In addition to my work mapping the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement, I am interested in the "divergent paths of the Restoration" &mdash; the Latter Day Saint denominations aside from the large Utah-based church. In 2007, with Newell G. Bringhurst, I co-edited a volume entitled Scattering of the Saints: Schism within Mormonism, which was published by John Whitmer Books. In 2010, with David Howlett and Barbara Walden, I co-wrote Community of Christ: An Illustrated History, which was published by Herald Publishing House.

From 2005-2009, I served as executive director of the John Whitmer Historical Association — a Midwest-based independent association of historians and enthusiasts who focus on Latter Day Saint history. Upon my retirement, I was elected president of the association. My presidential year 2010–2011 ended on September 24, 2011. I am also a member of the Mormon History Association.

I'm a member of the Community of Christ, and I have friends and acquaintances across the Latter Day Saint movement. My ancestors joined the movement 7 generations ago and early family members had connections with the Brighamites, Rigdonites, Strangites and Whitmerites. My interest is in the history and culture and my personal goal is to try to write Latter Day Saint history in a way that is both neutral and accurate — by avoiding the standard polemical analysis that is normally heaped upon the narratives from both apologists and overly harsh critics of the movement.

I've been a regular participant in the Mormon Bloggernacle. I was a founding contributor to MormonMatters and a regular contributor to By Common Consent. My author archives can be found here: http://mormonmatters.org/author/john-hamer/ and http://bycommonconsent.com/author/johnhamer/

User:Morning_star has created a wikipedia page about me: John C. Hamer.

Articles
This is a list of articles that I've either, created or significantly expanded or edited. I'm especially pleased with the ones I'm putting in bold.

WikiProject Latter Day Saint movement
I'm a member of the [Latter Day Saint movement WikiProject] and I've been deputed to help combine topical articles about individual Latter Day Saint denominations (LDS, Community of Christ, Strangite, etc.) into articles that discuss the topic from the point of view of the movement first, then the history thru 1844, then the individual denominational expressions (starting with LDS and then continuing down the line based on denominational size).

Articles we've worked on:
 * Latter Day Saint movement
 * History of the Latter Day Saint movement
 * Succession crisis (Mormonism)
 * High Council (Mormonism)
 * Presiding Bishop
 * Temple (Mormonism)
 * Quorum of the Twelve
 * Priesthood (Mormonism)
 * General Conference (Mormonism)
 * Doctrine and Covenants
 * President of the Church (Mormonism)
 * First Presidency
 * Lineal Succession (Mormonism)
 * Presiding Patriarch (Mormonism)
 * Rebaptism (Mormonism)
 * Ordinance (Mormonism)
 * City of Zion (Mormonism)
 * William D. Russell (historian)
 * Richard P. Howard
 * John Whitmer Historical Association

Early Latter Day Saint movement history (pre-1844)
Articles I've created, expanded or significantly edited:

The Missouri Period of Mormon history: Danite, Battle of Crooked River, Zion's Camp, Far West, Missouri, Mormon War, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Salt Sermon, Rigdon's July 4th Oration, Gallatin Election Day Battle, Haun's Mill Massacre, Elders' Journal.

I did some work on the Golden Plates and the Three Witnesses and Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, including David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, Joseph Smith, Sr., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Samuel Harrison Smith, Christian Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., and Jacob Whitmer. Also the Kinderhook Plates.

Other: Sidney Rigdon, Kirtland Temple, Nauvoo, Illinois, Nauvoo Temple, William W. Phelps, Emma Hale Smith.

Different Latter Day Saint denominations
Articles I've created, expanded or significantly edited:


 * Community of Christ, Independence temple, Auditorium (Community of Christ), Joseph Smith III, Israel Alexander Smith, W. Wallace Smith, Wallace B. Smith, W. Grant McMurray, Jason W. Briggs, Zenos H. Gurley, Sr., Amboy Conference, John Whitmer Historical Association


 * Also Temple Lot, Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), Voree Plates, Voree, Wisconsin, Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite), True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, George M. Hinkle.

And I've been adding little touches here and there on related threads. I'm very impressed with the Wikipedia system.

Medieval Maps
I started in a bit on Medieval maps with Mappa mundi.